Concerns About Shopify’s Competition ‘Over-Hyped,’ KeyBanc Says

(Bloomberg) -- There’s plenty of room for Shopify Inc. to share a slice of the e-commerce platform pie with Magento, the company’s competitor that Adobe Systems purchased last year, KeyBanc Capital Markets said.

"Overall, we see the competitive narrative as over-hyped and see ample market opportunities for both Magento and Shopify," analyst Josh Beck wrote after attending the Magento Imagine conference last month in Las Vegas.

Beck said more than 3,500 attendees took part in the conference and he spoke with developers, payments and shipping providers. He left the event "more positive" on Shopify.

The bank sees a path where Magento can gain about 9% market share, while Shopify gains about 2%, with limited overlap. Beck said that while he’s positive on Magento enterprise momentum, he didn’t discern a notable shift toward the small- and medium sized business market to match Shopify’s.

Shopify’s upcoming Unite conference may provide updates on shipping and order product functionality, KeyBanc noted. The conference takes place June 18-20 in Toronto. KeyBanc boosted its price target on Shopify to $300 from $275, matching Wall Street’s high, and reiterated a buy-equivalent rating. The company’s shares have more than doubled this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Bellusci in Toronto at mbellusci2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brad Olesen at bolesen3@bloomberg.net, Will Daley

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